List of characters from Qijian Xia Tianshan

The following is a list of characters from Liang Yusheng's Wuxia novel Qijian Xia Tianshan.

These characters also appear in Liang Yusheng's Saiwai Qixia Zhuan (塞外奇俠傳) and Baifa Monü Zhuan‎ (白髮魔女傳).

Seven Swordsmen

1st Generation

Ling Weifeng (凌未風) – the youngest member of the first generation. He is the third disciple of Reverend Huiming. In his younger days, he is known as Mulang (穆郎). He makes a major blunder that culminates in disastrous consequences for the swordsmen's ally (Heaven and Earth Society) and loses the trust of his crush Liu Yufang in the process. He attempts [...] in anguish but refrains from doing so when he meets the dying Yang Yuncong. He brings Yang's infant daughter Yi Lanzhu back to Mount Heaven in accordance with Yang's dying wish. Along the way, he is disfigured by Qiu Dongluo. He spends the next 18 years training with his teacher on Mount Heaven and makes tremendous improvements in his swordplay, surpassing many other famous swordsmen. He delivers justice and helps the poor with his skills and becomes a revered hero nicknamed "Holy Light of Mount Heaven" (天山神芒). He makes his spectacular return to the Jianghu and continues with the unfinished quest of the Seven Swordsmen.

Yang Yuncong (楊雲驄) – the eldest disciple of Reverend Huiming and originally the most highly-skilled one. He desires to make great achievements instead of leading the life of a reclusive swordsman like his teacher. He is of great forbearance and always suppresses his emotions, to the extent of suffering in silence and not holding any grudges when he is wrongly accused. He meets Hamaya of the Xinjiang tribal people and joins them in their battle against the invading Manchurian army. He feels unprepared to accept Hamaya for her tough and strong character. Subsequently, he meets Nalan Minghui, who becomes his lifelong love interest, and conceives a daughter illegitimately with her. Nalan Minghui is forced to marry Prince Dodo and Yang seizes their daughter from Nalan on the eve of the wedding. He is mortally wounded by Dodo's henchman Niukulu and perishes together with the enemy in a fight-to-the-death. With his dying breath, he entrusts his infant daughter to Mulang and asks him to take her back to their teacher on Mount Heaven.

Xin Longzi (辛龍子) – a disciple of Zhuo Yihang. He is a rare martial arts talent and surpasses his teacher eventually in terms of swordplay. He is caught between good and evil and turns against Ling Weifeng through Chu Zhaonan's instigation. However, Ling Weifeng enlightens him and succeeds in guiding him back to the path of goodness.

Zhang Huangyan (張煌言) – one of the pioneers of the 1st generation. He serves Prince Lu as a military general.

Wu Yuanying (武元英) – one of the pioneers of the 1st generation. He is the master of a manor on Mount Wutai, where he plays host to the Heaven and Earth Society.

Chu Zhaonan (楚昭南) – the second disciple of Reverend Huiming. He is originally a member of the first generation and defects to join the Manchurian military after succumbing to temptations of everlasting wealth, fame and power. Nevertheless, he remains as a formidable swordsman and strikes fear and panic in the hearts of many. He is haunted by his moral conscience about his iniquities, but his insatiable rapacity to achieve the best in everything eventually overshadows that pathetic rue. He becomes a student of his former teacher's old enemy Qi Zhenjun and joins the Qing government in persecuting the Wulin. He is defeated by the new generation of the Seven Swordsmen eventually and forced to commit [...].

Fu Qingzhu (傅青主) – the creator of "Wuji Swordplay" (無極劍). He is one of the pioneers of the first generation and the oldest member. His experience and calmness makes him the ideal leader for the Seven Swordsmen and the chief strategist of the Heaven and Earth Society. He travels to Mount Heaven to seek help from his friend Reverend Huiming to save the Wulin from the Qing government's persecution. He braves untold dangers to rescue the young Mao Wanlian, who becomes his foster daughter and disciple. He is the only member of the first generation to continue the Swordsmen's legacy.

2nd Generation

Gui Zhongming (桂仲明) – the foster son of Gui Tianlan. He is in fact the biological son of Shi Tiancheng and he refuses to acknowledge Shi as his father. He is described as "a youth extremely gifted in martial arts". He suffers from frequent fits of insanity and hallucinations after experiencing a traumatising incident in his early life. He meets Mao Wanlian who helps him to recover from his mental illness and falls in love with her and marries her eventually. He appears brash, dour, boorish and focused after having spent years in seclusion from society. However, he draws a clear distinction between good and evil and remains faithful to his moral principles.

Yi Lanzhu (易蘭珠) – the illegitimate daughter of Yang Yuncong and Nalan Minghui. She is raised on Mount Heaven by her father's teacher Reverend Huiming and her surrogate uncle Ling Weifeng. She masters various types of swordplay in a short period of time and becomes one of the last to learn the "Mount Heaven Swordplay". She leaves Mount Heaven and runs into her mother, who has married her father's killer, Prince Dodo. She is unable to accept the fact that her mother still respects Dodo as her husband. She avenges her father eventually. She is married to Zhang Huazhao.

Mao Wanlian (冒浣蓮) – the daughter of Mao Xiang and Dong Xiaowan. Her mother is taken away by force to be the Shunzhi Emperor's concubine and killed on the orders of the Empress Dowager later. Her father dies while trying to save her mother from the prison. She is rescued by Fu Qingzhu, who adopts her as his daughter and imparts his skills to her. As a child, she is bright, erudite and sincere. She participates in the Heaven and Earth Society's activities due to her foster father's status in the society. She meets Gui Zhongming by sheer fortuitousness and develops maternal love for him out of pity and helps him recover from his mental disorder. She meets the scholar Nalan Rongruo later and falls in love with him as well, but she decides to choose Gui over Nalan eventually and marries Gui.

Hamaya (哈瑪雅) - nicknamed "Feihongjin" (飛紅巾; literally: Flying Red Sash). She is a disciple of Lian Nichang. She is a legendary heroine of the desert and the elected leader of the minority tribal peoples of Xinjiang. She develops a crush on Yang Yuncong since their first meeting and becomes jealous when Yang falls in love with Nalan Minghui. After the death of Yang, she transfers her love for him to his daughter Yi Lanzhu and always appears as a motherly figure to Yi. She is susceptible to emotional breakdowns and extremely volatile to feelings of love and hate.

Zhang Huazhao (張華昭) – the son of Zhang Huangyan and a member of the Heaven and Earth Society. He is captured by the Qing forces during the failed assassination attempt on the Kangxi Emperor on Mount Wutai. Yi Lanzhu risks her life to save him and they fall in love after braving danger together. They are married eventually.

Liu Yufang (劉裕芳) – the daughter of a general serving under Prince Lu. She is caught in a love triangle between her, Mulang and Han Zhibang. She wrongly accuses Mulang of being a traitor after he makes a blunder and hurts him deeply. She feels guilty afterwards and keeps a token of their love to remind herself of Mulang. Eighteen years later when she meets Ling Weifeng, she feels that he bears some resemblance to Mulang although his looks have changed. Their old flames of passion are ignited again. Ling Weifeng refuses to admit that he is indeed the youth Mulang eighteen years ago until his death.

Fu Qingzhu (傅青主)

Allies

Reverend Huiming (晦明禪師) – a former military officer by the name of Yue Mingke (岳鳴珂) who becomes a reclusive swordsman. He founds the Mount Heaven Sect after spending years studying swordplay and martial arts on Mount Heaven. He obliges to Fu Qingzhu's request to lend a helping hand in saving the Wulin from the Qing government's persecution by allowing his three disciples (Yang Yuncong, Chu Zhaonan and Mulang) to participate in the noble quest.

Nalan Minghui (納蘭明慧) – the daughter of a Manchurian general. She is beautiful, demure and gracious, which makes her immaculate in the eyes of many men. She saves Yang Yuncong from death during the desert campaign and falls in love with him. They conceive a daughter illegitimately but are never fated to be together as she is betrothed to Prince Dodo. She is unable to alter her fate as she is of noble lineage and bounded by conventions to marry Dodo. She meets her daughter Yi Lanzhu eighteen years later, who assassinates Dodo to avenge her father. Yi Lanzhu is captured by the Manchurian forces and sentenced to death. She is powerless to save her daughter and commits [...] in despair.

Han Zhibang (韓志邦) – the present leader of the Heaven and Earth Society. He has always respected the Seven Swordsmen greatly ever since they came to the society's aid to save the Wulin from disaster. He is caught in a love triangle with Liu Yufang and Ling Weifeng. He loves Liu Yufang but is afraid of confessing his love to her and suffers in silence and despair while watching her together with Ling Weifeng. He makes a noble sacrifice to save Ling Weifeng from the enemy's capture and dies at the hands of Chu Zhaonan.

Nalan Rongruo (納蘭容若) – a Manchurian scholar and the elder cousin of Yi Lanzhu. He is strongly influenced by Han Chinese culture and sees the Han Chinese and Manchurians as equals. He has a strong disdain for bloodshed and conflict and hopes to resolve the animosity between the two ethnic groups. Altruistic and open-minded, he is epitome of peace and universal love in the novel. He prevents the Seven Swordsmen from assassinating the Kangxi Emperor by persuading them to carefully consider the severe consequences of widespread chaos if the nation loses its ruler overnight.

Shi Zhenfei (石振飛) – the leader of a famous escort agency. He is first introduced in the novel as an elderly swordsman whose swordplay skill is extremely swift and accurate. He is hardly mentioned in any major sword-fights in the novel except for his duels with Qi Zhenjun and Chu Zhaonan.

Shi Daniang (石大娘) – the wife of Shi Tiancheng. She is more powerful than her husband in martial arts.

Meng Wuwei (孟武威) – the leader of a famous escort agency. He is less powerful than Shi Zhenfei but superior to Chu Zhaonan in terms of inner energy.

Wu Qiongyao (武瓊瑤) – the daughter of Wu Yuanying. She is also a disciple of Lian Nichang. She is the wife of Li Siyong, the grandnephew of Li Zicheng.

Enemies

Prince Dodo (多鐸) – a Manchurian noble. He is in charge of leading the Qing army to eradicate all pugilists in the Wulin who pose a threat to the government. He marries the Manchurian noble lady Nalan Minghui, who has secretly conceived a daughter with Yang Yuncong of the Seven Swordsmen. Yang Yuncong is killed by his henchmen on the eve of his wedding. Eighteen years later, Yang's daughter Yi Lanzhu returns to assassinate him and avenge her father.

Dorgon (多爾袞) – a Manchurian noble. He is the elder brother of Dodo.

Qi Zhenjun (齊真君) – the founder of the Mount Changbai Sect. His students include sworn enemies of the Seven Swordsmen, such as Niukulu and Qiu Dongluo. In his younger days, when he was nicknamed "Northern Desert Sword Deity" (漠北劍神), he challenged Reverend Huiming and Lian Nichang to duels. He is utterly defeated by them and chased away. He sneaks into the Imperial Palace and secures his place in politics as the Grand Chief Eunuch through sheer cunning and manipulation. While in the palace, he practises a special skill which allows him to increase his inner energy and make him impenetrable to any type of sharp weapons. His ambition to rule the Wulin and the empire becomes stronger and he forces the Shunzhi Emperor to abdicate. He replaces Shunzhi with the young Kangxi Emperor, whom he views as inexperienced and susceptible to his manipulation.

Three Western Devils (西域三妖) – Sangqian (桑乾), Sanggua (桑弧) and Sangren (桑仁). They maintain a dominant position in the western regions of China for several years until they are expelled from the land by Lian Nichang. They stage a comeback after her death and startle all with newfound prowess in martial arts. They are hired by Qi Zhenjun to do his evil bidding and eventually slain by Ling Weifeng.

Cheng Tianting (成天挺) – a powerful imperial guard with equal status as Chu Zhaonan.

Niukulu (纽枯魯), - a powerful Manchurian warrior who formerly served Nurhachi. He is a student of Qi Zhenjun and becomes the martial arts tutor of Prince Dodo. He pursues Yang Yuncong on the eve of Dodo's wedding and engages Yang in a fight-to-the-death. Both of them are mortally wounded and he dies before Yang Yuncong.

Qiu Dongluo (邱東洛) - one of Prince Dodo's henchmen. He is also a student of Qi Zhenjun. He is responsible for disfiguring Mulang. Mulang comes to take his revenge as Ling Weifeng several years later and slices off his ear for revenge.

Others

Kangxi Emperor (康熙皇帝) – the ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He passes a law outlawing the practice of martial arts and formation of secret societies to strengthen his rule on the empire. He persecutes the pugilists in the Wulin who dares to oppose him and faces strong resentment from them. He faces two attempts on his life and the last and third attempt by the Seven Swordsmen is defused by Nalan Rongruo, who speaks up for him.

Shunzhi Emperor (順治皇帝) – the father of the Kangxi Emperor. He is a relatively weak and incompetent ruler. His son plots to kill him and seize power but he survives and has since remained in disguise as a monk on Mount Wutai.

White-Haired Demoness (白髮魔女) – the female protagonist of Baifa Monü Zhuan‎. Her real name is Lian Nichang (練霓裳). In this novel, her status and martial arts prowess can only be rivalled by Reverend Huiming. She is formerly Zhuo Yihang's lover but she becomes more vicious after he betrays her love and their history of love and hatred only comes to a conclusion in this novel. She imparts most of her skills to Hamaya, who handles love relationships in a similar way as her.

Zhuo Yihang (卓一航) – the male protagonist of Baifa Monü Zhuan. He is the leader of the Wudang Sect. He has a previous love affair with Lian Nichang in the prequel novel and the long history of love and hatred between them is only resolved in this novel.

Shi Tiancheng (石天成) – a disciple of Zhuo Yihang. He is the biological father of Gui Zhongming. He kills his love rival Gui Tianlan. However, his son only sees Gui Tianlan as a father and refuses to acknowledge him.

Gui Tianlan (桂天瀾) – the adoptive father of Gui Zhongming. He has a fight with Shi Tiancheng over love rivalry and loses his life even though he is more powerful than Shi. Fu Qingzhu witnesses the duel personally and he speaks highly of Gui Tianlan.

Taoist Xuanzhen (玄真道長) – the head of the Wudang Sect. He succeeds Zhuo Yihang after the latter leaves due to his complicated love affair with Lian Nichang.

Wu Sangui (吳三桂) – a former Ming general who defects to the Manchurians. He allows them to conquer the Central Plains by opening the gates of Shanhai Pass. He is later conferred the title of "Prince of Yunnan" by the Qing government. He is betrayed by his subordinate Chu Zhaonan, who conspires with Qi Zhenjun to expose his plans to start a rebellion against the Kangxi Emperor.

Prince Lu (南明魯王) – the leader of the remnant forces who are struggling to restore the fallen Ming Dynasty.